Kenzie Academy Raises $100 Million to Sweeten Their Income Share Agreement

Indianapolis-based Kenzie Academy announced on November 4 that it had raised $100 million to help finance student tuition from Community Investment Management, a San Francisco-based impact investor. The investment supports Kenzie Academy’s income share agreement offering and will allow them to scale their operations.

“There are millions of Americans who are barred from high-quality post-secondary education because of where they live and their financial situation. And many who are ‘lucky enough’ to go to college find themselves buried in debt and without a job,” said Kenzie Academy Co-founder and CEO Chok Ooi, in a statement. “This $100 million will level the playing field, enabling deserving individuals,  regardless of their background, to access high-quality training that leads to a high paying job in tech for only $100 upfront.  Kenzie will be scaling our online classroom to teach engineering skills to anyone, anywhere, and then find them the types of jobs that will change their lives.”

Kenzie Academy Runs a Midwestern Coding Bootcamp Back by Butler University

Kenzie Academy operates both in-person and online coding bootcamps that aim to educate learners for work in tech. They hope to teach people who live in the Midwest or outside American tech centers on the coasts.

Learners have the option to pay for training either through traditional means or with an income share agreement. Kenzie’s ISA allows learners to pay just $100 up front. Following successful graduation from the program and acceptance into a job that pays a minimum of $40,000 per year, Kenzie-trained professionals pay back 13% of their income for two years. The income share agreement is also capped at a certain amount. More details of the deal are available at Kenzie’s site.

Just over a month ago, Kenzie Academy raised a Series A venture funding round of $7.8 million. That investment was made to help scale Kenzie’s operations, and the details of the deal were not disclosed.

The investment from Community Investment Management (CIM) differs in that the funds will allow Kenzie Academy to offer better deals for their ISA.

Improving the Details of their Income Share Agreement

The resources allowed Kenzie to drop the percentage of their graduates’ income they reclaim from 17.5% to 13%. It also allowed them to lower the cap of the total amount that they receive before the agreement is fulfilled.

“We are excited to support Kenzie Academy in their mission to make technology training more accessible for all Americans,” said Jacob Haar, Co-founder and Managing Partner of CIM, in a statement. “Kenzie is equipping the talent beyond Silicon Valley to fill the technology jobs of today which are located across the country. This innovative and aligned financing demonstrates Kenzie’s commitment to prepare their graduates with the skills to succeed and offer students from diverse communities and backgrounds the opportunity to pursue technology careers.”

Kenzie Academy offers two tracks of instruction: software engineering and UX engineering. Both are designed to conform with current professional practices and ensure that their graduates can enter the workforce.

The coding bootcamp also maintains a relationship with Butler University, a private liberal arts institution that is also based in Indianapolis. Through their partnership, Kenzie grads also receive a Joint Software Engineering Certificate from Butler.

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